Marvel's Guardians' rockets to top of box office

This image released by Disney - Marvel shows, from left, Zoe Saldana, the character Rocket Racoon, voiced by Bradley Cooper, Chris Pratt, the character Groot, voiced by Vin Diesel and Dave Bautista in a scene from "Guardians of the Galaxy." The movie releases on Friday, Aug. 1, 2014. (AP Photo/Disney - Marvel)

Marvel Studios’ cosmic romp starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista as members of an intergalactic band of rebels earned $94 million in its debut weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. Ahead of its Friday debut, box office analysts initially projected that the comic book adaptation would earn between $60 million and $75 million in North America.

The out-of-this-world launch gives “Guardians” the biggest opening for a film released in the traditionally low-key month of August, a record previously held by the $69.2 million debut of 2007’s “The Bourne Ultimatum.” It also makes “Guardians” the third largest opening of 2014, coming behind the $95 million inauguration of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” in April and the $100 million launch of “Transformers: Age of Extinction” in June.

“Guardians,” which also features Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel voicing the computer-generated characters Rocket Raccoon and Groot, was originally considered a risky proposition for Marvel and “Guardians” distributor Walt Disney Co. because it features more obscure characters from the Marvel universe and is set almost entirely in outer space.

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Despite any apprehension, Marvel was betting on “Guardians,” written and directed by “Slither” filmmaker James Gunn, to be a blockbuster. The studio announced at Comic-Con in San Diego last month that a sequel is already set for release in 2017. Marvel’s next films are the follow-up “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Ant-Man” starring Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas. Both movies are coming in 2015.

Marvel comic book adaptations have dominated 2014 with Sony Pictures’ “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” 20th Century Fox’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and Marvel Studios’ “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” each arriving in first place at the box office on their respective opening weekends.

“This is a brand that transcends any character within their universe,” he said. “The mere mention of the name Marvel is enough to get people into the movie theater. That’s somewhat rare. Pixar obviously has a similar cachet, but for Marvel to have four films this year open with over $90 million is amazing. It’s unprecedented success.”

Disney noted that “Guardians” hauled in an additional $66.4 million from 42 international territories, including Russia, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea and the United Kingdom, making it the first-place film overseas. “Guardians” is scheduled to land in such markets as Australia, India and Columbia next weekend.

In a distant second place at the North American box office, “Lucy,” starring Scarlett Johansson as a woman with mind-bending powers, nabbed $18.3 million in its second weekend, bringing the Universal Pictures release’s domestic total to $80 million.

Meanwhile, Universal’s James Brown biopic “Get on Up” featuring Chadwick Boseman as the soulful singer opened in third place with $14 million.

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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released on Monday.

1. “Guardians of the Galaxy,” $94 million ($66.4 million international).

2. “Lucy,” $18.3 million ($5.1 million international).

3. “Get on Up,” $14 million.

4. “Hercules,” $10.7 million ($14.2 million international).

5. “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” $8.7 million ($47.5 million international).

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to Rentrak:

1. “Guardians of the Galaxy,” $66.4 million.

2. “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” $47.5 million.

3. “The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom,” $40 million.

4. “Roaring Currents,” $30 million.

5. “How To Train Your Dragon 2,” $20 million.

6. “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” $19.1 million.

7. “Continent,” $17 million.

8. “Hercules,” $14.2 million.

9. “Girl Friends,” $13 million.

10. “The Purge: Anarchy,” $8.1 million.

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Universal and Focus are owned by NBCUniversal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.